Game apparatus.



.N05 8374.581. PATBNTED'OCT-30, 1906. R. T. LAMBERT.

GAME APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED MAR'.8.1906A.

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` J'IN'VIENTDR; /JAJM WITNEEEE PATENTED 00T. 3o, 1906.

ILT. LAMBERT. GAME APPARATUS. vAPPLIMTH'HJ FILED MAR.e.19oe.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 30, 1906.

Application filed March 8, 1906. Serial No. 304.831.

.'L'o all whom it may con/cern;

Be it known that I, RICHARD T. LAMBERT,

p of Boston, in the county yof Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention consists in a game apparatus which includes a ball or balls to be thrown by the players, and a structure having a plurality of passages leading to different stalls or compartments, which are finally reached bythe balls when properly thrown,

-longitudinal vertical section of the same.

Fig. 3 represents a section online 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 represents a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification. Fig. 7 represents a detached view of one of the parts of the apparatus. l l

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts inall the figures.

In the drawings,a/ represents a vertical deecting-plate, which is preferably a slab of slate or other hard material, having a smooth front surface a. The plate ais attached to a su porting structure, which includes a vertica chute b, the front wall b of which is eX- tended above the lower portion of the plate a and is separated therefrom by a space c, which is' subdivided into a series of vertical throats by means of wings or partitions d.

The apparatus comprises one or more balls e, adapted to be thrown by the players, the size of said balls being such that any ball, when aimed so that it will strike the plate between two of the wings or partitions d,

somewhat belowthe upper ends of said partitions, will be deflected by the plate downwardly into the chute b. Below the chute is an inclined floor on which the balls fall in dropping throug the chute, the said floor being inclined downwardly from the chute to the forward portion of the apparatus, its lower forward end being su divided by wings g into a series of stalls g, into which balls rolling along the loorf will enter.

h represents a stop or abutmentwhich arrests the balls entering said stalls, the said stop being preferably a movable bar adapted to be raised above the stall in guides h to permit the balls to roll from the stalls into a trough or receptacle i after the game has been finished. The trough i has a downwardly-inclined bottom and is open at the lower end of said bottom, so that balls escaping from the stalls into said .trough will roll down the latter and may escape into a receptacle placed at the open end of the trough.

The stalls may be designated by numerals applied to the stop-bar h, as shown in Figs. l and 5, or by letters applied to said bar, as shown in Fig. 7.

j represents a hopper located .at the front side of the chute b, the mouth of the hopper being below the exposed front side of the deflecting-plate a and arranged so that a ball striking the upper portion of the deflected plate or near the upper ends of the wings d will be deflected by the plate into the hopper, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The hopper communicates with a receptacle c, which is here shown as a bin, having an inclined bottom m, which is located above and is substantially parallel with the floor f. Balls entering the hopper bottom m and will be guided by the latter to the forward portion of the apparatus, where they may be removed through an opening n in the top of the bin k. The bottom m is preferably provided with obliquely-arranged guides 0 o, adapted to deflect balls rolling lonlg the bottom fm toward the sides of the The central wing d at the front of the deflecting-plate a may have an extension d, extending through the chute b and subdividing the latter, said extension having in turn an extension d2, extending through the space between the bottom fm and oorf and subdividing said space into two parts, the forward end of the extension d2 constituting one of the stall-forming wings g.

r represents a receptacle attached to the forward end of the bin k, in convenient posij will strike the IOO tion to hold the balls before they have been played.

A player using the apparatus takes a ball from the receptacle r and throws it toward the plate a. If the ball strikes the plate at the proper height between two of the wings d- IIO it falls through the throat formed by said wings and through the chute h to the iioorf and rolls down the latter into the stall which corresponds in position to the throat at which the ball entered. The stalls formed by the Wings g being diferently designated, the value of the ball to the player throwing it will be determined by the location of the stall which the ball enters. Balls inaccurately aimed and striking the plate a too near its upper edge will be deflected outwardly and enter the hopper from which they will pass to the end of the bin 7c, where they may be conveniently collected.

1. A game apparatus comprising a vertical deflecting-plate, a vertical chute extending downwardly from the plate, one side of the chute extending above the lower portion of the plate and being separated therefrom by a ball-receiving space, which is subdivided into a series of vertical throats communicating with the interior of the chute, an inclined floor arranged to receive balls from the chute, the lower end of said floor having a series of ball-receiving stalls located at the forward portion of the apparatus, a hopper at the front side of the chute adapted to receive balls that rebound from the plate, and means for guiding balls from the hopper to the forward portion of the apparatus.

2. A game apparatus comprising a vertical deflecting-plate, a vertical chute extending downwardly from the plate, one side of the chute extending above the lower portion of the plate and being separated therefrom by a ball-receiving space, which is subdivided into a series of vertical throats communicating with the interior of the chute, an inclined lloor arranged to receive balls from the chute, the lower end of said loor having a series of ball-receiving stalls, located at the forward portion of the apparatus, a hopper at the front side of the chute adapted to receive balls that rebound from the plate, and a receptacle below the hopper having an inclined bottom located above said floor.

3. In an amusement apparatus, an inclined floor, having a series of parallel wings at its lower portion and a movable bar extending across said wings, the said bar and wings forming ball-receiving stalls, from which balls escape by gravitation when the bar is displaced, and an inclined trough below the ioor to receive and guide the escaping balls.

4. In an amusement apparatus a hopper, a receptacle below the hopper having an inclined bottom, and oblique guides on said. bottom to deflect balls toward the sides of the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD T. LAMBERT.

Witnesses:

DANIEL J. FLOOD, C. F. BROWN. 

